Blue Card rule investigation after Malanda State School denies year 1 history talk

Complaints have been lodged about the state’s blue card rules after a primary school refused a guest speaker entry and then added a special clause to tighten its rules.

Malanda retiree Norman Waugh outside the Malanda State School where he was invited to give a history talk to year 1 students but was denied because he did not have a Blue Card.

Complaints have been lodged about the state’s blue card rules after a primary school refused a guest speaker entry and then added a special clause to tighten the school’s rules.

Malanda State School, west of Cairns, stopped retiree Norman Waugh from giving his annual one-hour history talk to students in his wife’s Year 1 and 2 classes last month because he did not have a blue card.

Principal Mark Allen and deputy principal Shannon Palmer intervened after Mr Waugh was unable to complete an electronic sign-in, designed for those with blue cards.

The host teacher was told to tell her husband, Mr Waugh, to leave because he needed a Blue Card but minutes later Ms Palmer said he could stay.

Two days after Mr Waugh was turned away, the school’s business manager Troy Degenhardt emailed staff spelling out the blue card rules, with a new condition.

“Under the rules, a person does not need a blue card if they are a paid employee, volunteer, or student and work for no more than seven days in a calendar year,” the email said.

“This is not limited to one school, but rather all possible opportunities to engage in child-related work.

“On this basis, and because we have no means of knowing whether someone has been engaged for seven or more days, it is our position that all people attending Malanda State School require (sic) to have a blue card.”

The email sent to families two days after Norman Waugh was not allowed to give his history talk. PHOTOS: Supplied

Mr Waugh, who has no criminal record and does not work with children, said he had lodged complaints with the Department of Education which was now investigating.

Education Queensland denied the claims, but the Department of Education Far North Queensland Regional Office has launched an investigation.

“The person did not follow login procedures at the school and left the premises on their own accord,” a department spokesman said.

“The school’s refusal to grant permission for the person to be on premises is in line with the school’s policies on blue cards.

“The school has declined a number of contractors in 2023 because they have not presented a blue card.

“Malanda State School has a sign-in system for all visitors and volunteers who are required to hold a blue card in the interests of student safety and child protection.

“The person in question will be able to deliver a presentation at the school pending on obtaining a valid blue card.”

A person does not need a blue card if they are a paid employee, volunteer, or student and work for no more than seven days in a calendar year.

Teachers’ Professional Association of Queensland president Tracy Tully said the school was operating outside the blue card rules when it added in the disclaimer clause two days after it had denied Mr Waugh from presenting his history lesson.

“According to Blue Card Services rules, the school is in the wrong and there was no need to prevent him from giving his history talk that day,” Ms Tully said.

“The incident will be investigated and the law remains that if you are a volunteer and have not worked at a school for more than seven days in a calendar year, you do not need a blue card — it’s that simple.”